Rebekah Bankston’s confidence is what makes her a perfect recipient for one of the six scholarships awarded to the Loyola basketball program, according to coach DoBee Plaisance.

With midterm grades in last week and the season opening today, Bankston, general studies freshman, has found that she will need that confidence to meet the challenges of college level academics and basketball.

When consideration came about for which basketball recruits to offer the full tuition scholarships, Plaisance said the coaches looked for scholars first and athletes second.

“That’s why I think it is apropos that they call them scholar-athletes,” Plaisance said. “And Rebekah fits that profile.”

In high school, in her hometown of Bourg, La., Bankston said she never had to study. She made A’s and B’s and received the recognition of Beta Honor Roll. Since she began her first semester at Loyola, however, she has found that her classes demand that she spend more time with her books.

“But I don’t even know how to study,” Bankston said.

Plaisance said that wouldn’t be a problem.

“This team is together 24/7,” she said. “It becomes an automatic tutoring session.”

Bankston said that team captain, sociology junior Joelle Bordelon, has agreed to read over her papers. She also plans to visit the Writing Across the Curriculum lab.

When midterm grades were posted and her GPA was a 2.25, below the 2.7 that Loyola requires her to maintain, Bankston said she knew she needed to get help. She hopes she will work through these academic challenges just as she did over the athletic challenges that she encountered at the start of the season.

At 6 feet 1 inch, Bankston towers above her other teammates. But she said that what they don’t have in height, they make up for in speed. She had to work hard in the preseason to maintain the pace.

“I’m getting into shape,” Bankston said. “When we first got here after only two trips down the court, I was dying.”

Now, Plaisance said that Bankston can run a down and back in 10 seconds or less.

“Rebekah is blessed with extreme physical tools to play the game,” said Plaisance. “She moves like a small forward … and she has nice touch.”

Bankston credited her high school basketball coach for her strong fundamentals on the court. Plaisance said that Vandebilt Catholic coach, Kathy Luke, is one of the top high school coaches in the state. Bankston said it is also thanks to Luke that she considered playing college basketball.

The Louisiana native said she chose Loyola because “it is close to home and the academics are known around the world.” She also was impressed with the team’s accomplishments last year.

“They broke so many records,” she said.

Without the scholarship, Bankston said she would not have been able to afford Loyola.

She said she was worried that there would be jealousy about the scholarships, but said her teammates don’t treat her any differently. The expectations on the court are the same for all of the players.

Bankston said no one on the women’s basketball team believes they are missing out on the social aspect of college because of their dedication to what the team is trying to achieve this season. Plaisance doesn’t even give them a curfew because she trusts her players.

“If I went out at night, I would never make it through practice,” Bankston said, referring to the daily training session that can last up to three hours.

She said she never went out much in high school, because she had a long-time boyfriend, who became her fiancée in May.

The women’s team left yesterday for the Lee University Tournament in Cleveland, Tenn. The women play their season opener today against Emmanuel University and face Lee tomorrow.

Gigi Alford can be reached at [email protected]